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A reader sent in this story, about how this 18 year-old man was given only 6 months in jail for raping two women. (Oh, and he gets work and school release privileges.)
Michael Philbin, son of a Green Bay Packers coach, said he was “ashamed” and “embarrassed.” Well, that’s lovely, but I wish he was feeling ashamed from prison for more than 6 frigging months. The short jail sentence aside, what really bugged me about this article was the language it used to describe the attacks:

Philbin had sex with one girl after she passed out and was placed on his parent’s bed. He then joined another 17-year-old boy in the basement and forced a second girl to perform oral sex, according to the criminal complaint filed last month.

Excuse me, but you don’t “have sex” with an unconscious girl. That’s called rape.

Brown County Circuit Court Judge Sue Bischel, in accepting a joint sentencing recommendation, said by all accounts Philbin was a good person who made a horrible decision.

Making a “horrible decision” to rape someone doesn’t make you a good person who fucked up - it makes you a rapist.

Reading from a pre-sentence report, Bischel said Philbin acknowledged that he took advantage of the girls knowing they had too much to drink.

Took advantage of? Again, rape. Judge Bischel also ruled that Philbin didn’t have to register as a sex offender because it was “excessive” (and raping two women isn’t?) and that after completing probation he could petition to have the convictions removed from his record.
I am so tired of the rape apologism – in the media, in the courts, in the culture. How much more can we really take?

These days everyone is talking about how colleges and universities can cut down on rape on their campuses. But likely the single most important way to end violence on campus is to start talking about it long before — in middle and high school.

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Alma Adams (D-N.C.) have introduced the Teach Safe Relationships Act, which amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and would require schools to teach students about safe relationships as part of sex education.

These days everyone is talking about how colleges and universities can cut down on rape on their campuses. But likely the single most important way to end violence on campus is to start talking about it long ...

The first rule of domestic violence in China is don’t talk about domestic violence in China. Victims face “fear and shame” when they speak out within”a culture that denies there is a problem,” as Kim Lee, an American advocate who was married to an abusive Chinese partner, told the New York Times. Abusers are almost never held to account. Confucian patriarchal norms blame women for domestic discords, inadequate law enforcement has little understanding of abusive relationship dynamics, and the public is largely apathetic. Though pending legislative changes may better situation, China is to date an ideal place for domestic ...

Ed. note: This post was originally published on the Community site.

*Trigger warning: domestic violence and sexual assault*

The first rule of domestic violence in China is don’t talk about domestic violence in China. Victims face “fear and ...

According to the latest update in a 25-year-long study, TV sports news and highlights shows, like ESPN’s SportsCenter, devote under 5 percent of their coverage to women’s sports. That’s actually less than it was back in 1989.

I have a piece up at Pacific Standard today about some of the other findings from the research. The key takeaway, I think, is that this media silence—combined with the lack of enthusiasm displayed in the rare instances when women’s sports are covered—is actively thwarting the development of knowledgeable and committed fan bases for women’s athletics. The public seems to agree—in another new survey, most said the media deserved the blame for the lack of attention paid to women’s sports.

According to the latest update in a 25-year-long study, TV sports news and highlights shows, like ESPN’s SportsCenter, devote under 5 percent of their coverage to women’s sports. That’s actually less than it was back in 1989.